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Hepatitis B and A virus incidences in the United States

• Almost 50% of hepatitis A and 25% of hepatitis B patients have no know risk factors
• One in 20 has or will one day have Hepatitis B
• Approximately 300,000 people are infected annually
• Hepatitis B decreased in healthcare workers as a direct result of immunization programs
• In high-risk groups (homosexuals, college students) the decrease in the incidence of hepatitis B is believed to be from modification of behavior
• 11% to 22% of patients with Hepatitis A are hospitalized
• people infected with Hepatitis A miss an average of 27 days of work
• 100 people die each year from hepatitis A
• approximately 1 million to 1.25 million people are chronically infected with Hepatitis B
• Each year approximately 4,200 to 5,000 people die as a result of Hepatitis B-related complications
• Each year worldwide, approximately 250,000 patients die as a result of hepatitis B-related acute and chronic liver disease

Hepatitis B infects about 300,000 Americans a year. Many are students. Hepatitis B is a highly contagious virus. It can strike silently and cause life-threatening liver damage.

People in their teens and twenties are at greater risk of catching hepatitis B than any age group. But there is a vaccine.

Why is Hepatitis B so Dangerous?

Once the hepatitis B virus enters the bloodstream, it silently invades the liver cells. Hepatitis B disrupts normal liver functions, and some of this damage is severe, hepatitis B can kill you!

From Blood

You may get hepatitis B if you are exposed to blood through cuts, open sores, or mucous membranes (mouth or vagina); or, raely, by receiving infected blood products. If someone in your household is infected, you can get hepatitis B by sharing household items like razors.

From Sharing Needles

You can become infected by sharing any type of needle, including needles form steroid injections or ear piercing.

From Sex

Hepatitis B is found in infected semen, vaginal secretions, and saliva. You can get hepatitis B from vaginal, oral, or anal intercourse. If your partner is infected, you may get hepatitis B from any unprotected sex act, but having intercourse without a condom makes it more likely.

What can Hepatitis B do to me?

In the mildest case, you never know you have hepatitis B, and it's gone in six months. But some people become carriers for life, infecting others they care about. In the most serious case, the disease scars the liver and may lead to liver cancer (see box below for more informaion).

What are the symptoms?

Often there are no symptoms, so some people have hepatitis B and never know it. Others feel very ill and are unable to work for weeks or months. Symptoms of hepatitis B may be similar to a stomach virus. If you have nausea, tiredness, lack of appetite, dark urine, and/ or yellowing of the skin and eyes, see your health care provider.

Hepatitis B is Serious

• Can cause ongoing liver damage or lead to liver cancer
• Can lead to hospitalization
• Turns skin and eyes yellow

What does My liver do for me?

You would not live long without a liver. Some say that liver is the master organ of the body. It produces bile, which digests fatty foods. It stores energy to keep you going when you miss a meal. If makes it possible for your blood to clot when you are cut. It manufactures proteins to repair your body. And it helps clear the body of toxic substances like bacteria, alcohol, and drugs. Together with the heart, lungs, and kidneys, it keeps you alive.

What can Hepatitis B do to my liver?

Hepatitis B is the most common contagious liver disease, and it can cause severe damage. Hepatitis B inflames the liver. When the liver is inflamed, it cannot clear bile and poisonous substances, provide energy, or make proteins.

Hepatitis B can cause cirrhosis, a deadly scarring of the liver similar to the disease of long-term alcoholics. Hepatitis B is the most common cause of liver cancer. Your chances of getting liver cancer increase 200 times when you have hepatitis B. Either cirrhosis or liver cancer can show up years after you have chronic hepatitis B.

What is the treatment?

There is no cure. The only treatment for hepatitis B is rest, combined with a high protein and carbohydrate diet to repair cells and protect the liver.

There is a shot that your health care provider may recommend for you if your sex partner or a member of your household is found to have hepatitis B. This shot will be followed immediately with the hepatitis B vaccination series.

HEPAPTITIS B HAS NO CURE

• No consistently effective treatment exists
• Once you get it, you can have it for life
• You can become a carrier
• Carriers can infect others at any time, including friends and family
• Carriers are more likely to die from liver damage or liver cancer

How can I protect myself?

Get vaccinated. A safe, effective vaccine is available here at the health center, and it gives lasting protection. If you have sec, reduce your risk -- use condoms! Condoms help protect you from many sexually transmitted diseases, not just hepatitis B.

Who should get vaccinated?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends widespread use of hepatitis B vaccine for adolescents to protect them and to control hepatitis B in the United States. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends vaccination of all adolescents when feasible.

GET VACCINATED

• All sexually active people should be vaccinated
• Unprotected sex increases your risk
• Certain travelers to high-risk areas
• Family members of hepatitis B-infected individuals
• IV drug users
• The sooner you start, the sooner you'll be protected
  

The vaccine is given in the arm, in three doses. It is important to get all three doses to be protected. As with most vaccinations, there is some soreness in the arm for a day, but other mild side effects such as fever and nausea are rare. You cannot get hepatitis B or any other disease from the vaccine.

This information was adapted from American College Health Association, SmithKline Beecham, and GlaxoSmithKlin brochures. If you would like more information about Athlete's foot, please call Hartshorn Health Service at 491-7121.